Territorial leaders visit relief effort, serve alongside first responders in Louisiana

By: Brad Rowland

In the wake of Hurricane Ida, The Salvation Army is expanding disaster relief efforts in bicoastal fashion to meet mounting need. As of Saturday, Sept. 4, The Salvation Army’s USA Southern Territory has provided more than 89,000 meals, 65,000 drinks and 28,000 snacks through trained emergency response teams in Louisiana, with more than 7,000 hours of service from more than 130 disaster workers. On Thursday Sept. 2 and Friday Sept. 3, Commissioners Willis and Barbara Howell, Southern Territorial Leaders, arrived to assess the situation and The Salvation Army’s continuing response.

Commissioners Howell toured the Incident Command Posts (ICP) in both New Orleans and Gonzales, La.. During their visit, they helped to serve meals, prayed with first responders and survivors, and observed operations. In addition, Commissioners Howell led the morning devotions, sending workers into action on an inspired note, and they helped to load canteens with supplies.

40 mobile feeding units, each able to serve between 500 and 1,500 meals per day, are committed to The Salvation Army’s Hurricane Ida relief operations, and they continue to meet physical need, in addition to providing emotional and spiritual care to survivors and first responders.

Thirteen feeding locations are in service within the city of New Orleans, with The Salvation Army providing food and drinks for as long as they are needed, and fixed feeding locations have also been established in Albany, Baton Rouge, Hammond and Houma. In addition, roaming feeding trucks are in service in other areas, and The Salvation Army is working in partnership with the Southern Baptists, who are deploying three field kitchens with the capacity to serve 30,000 meals.

Staging centers for relief supplies and assets have been established in Beaumont, Tex. and Jackson, Miss., with two incident management teams in service featuring personnel from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

For more information on The Salvation Army's continued response, visit disaster.salvationarmyusa.org.